Dedicated to the Business of Contemporary Live Music
PROMOTER AEG Presents and Barclaycard have agreed that the Hyde Park concert with Neil Young and Bob Dylan can take place outside of the annual summer series of Barclaycard presents British Summer Time shows. The sold-out concert will now be a stand-alone entity on the same day, 12 July, with…
Read moreCHARITY HELP Musicians UK (HMUK) has named the three acts who are this year’s winners of the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award grant scheme. Alex Hitchcock, Tom Smith and Sheila Maurice-Grey will receive £5,000, £3,000 and £2,000, respectively, to help grow their careers. The funding can be used across a range…
Read moreTHE FESTIVAL Awards have confirmed a new category for next year to celebrate the achievements of women in the festival business. The Women in Festivals category is in dedication to Tramlines festival director Sarah Nulty, who died in July (see LIVE UK 221). “In addition to acknowledging Sarah’s myriad achievements…
Read moreUK MUSIC CEO Michael Dugher has written to Prime Minister Theresa May warning of potential Brexit risks to the music industry and artistes touring in Europe after 29 March. In the letter, the head of the music industry’s umbrella organisation suggests that leaving the European Union (EU) will result in…
Read moreFOLLOWING THE date breach at Ticketmaster (TM) earlier this year (see LIVE UK issue 222), banks are still monitoring customers’ accounts for potential fraudulent activity. The hack affected up to 40,000 TM customers who had bought tickets online, between February and June, and is believed to have seen names, addresses,…
Read moreVETERAN AGENT and head of worldwide music at United Talent Agency (UTA) Neil Warnock has been named chairman of the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th anniversary committee. The 5,272-capacity Grade I-listed building celebrates 150 years of performances in 2021 and ambassadors have been selected from across the industry to create a…
Read moreVETERAN MUSIC business insurance broker Martin Goebbels has left Integro and takes up a new role at Miller Insurance Services in January. LIVE UK understands that he resigned in the summer and was placed on gardening leave in October. “Martin’s extensive experience in the contingency arena will bring additional expertise…
Read moreNEW FIGURES produced by the government revealed a significant growth for Britain’s creative industries, which also include music, film, TV and advertising, The report says the sector was worth £101.5 billion in 2017, up from £94.8 billion in 2016. “Our creative industries not only fly the flag for the best…
Read moreTICKETMASTER HAS confirmed the closure of its resale websites GetMeIn (GMI) and Seatwave, following the launch of a new fan-to-fan platform, which allows the resale of tickets at the price paid for them. Observers believe the company bowed to increasing pressure on the Big Four secondary sites – the other…
Read moreCONCERTS ARE at the top of its agenda for Sunderland’s 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light, following a change of ownership last May. A private investment group led executive director Charlie Methven and Stewart Donald took over the venue and two months later.employed Tony Davison as MD and the key contact for…
Read moreNOTTINGHAM’S LARGEST venue for live music, the 10,000-capacity Motorpoint Arena, has opted for planters rather than more traditional barriers to protect its entrance area. It has installed four street planters, provided by Securiscape, in Bolero Square. “We could have installed a row of security bollards, but we decided that the…
Read moreAFTER 10 years as the Echo Arena (cap. 11,000), the Liverpool venue is being rebrand as M&S Bank Arena in January. The new partnership replaces the Liverpool Echo’s naming right deal with the venue, with the newspaper continuing as a key business partner. “M&S Bank is one of the UK’s…
Read moreMANAGEMENT AT London’s 10,000-capacity Alexandra Palace felt compelled to defend their crowd management strategy after 25-year-old Ali Mills died at a Bring Me The Horizon concert on 30 November. Medics arrived within three minutes of being called after the NHS worker suffered a cardiac arrest during the event, but he…
Read moreCreditors fury as new Camp Bestival announces acts PAPERS PREPARED by the administrator for the collapsed companies behind this years 40,000-capacity Bestival and Camp Bestival (cap. 25,000) show that more than 160 live artistes and DJs are owed a combined figure of over £870,000. Between them the operating companies behind…
Read moreCONTROVERSIAL RESALE website Viagogo must review all refunds provided in the past three years for iregulatities, after being slapped with a court order secured by the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA). The firm will have to pay for an independent review into its refund records dating back to January…
Read moreUS SINGER Halsey based the stage of her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom tour around a central LED staircase designed to show off her fluid movement around the stage according to lighting director and operator Jose Antunes. When she visited the UK for a date at London’s Eventim Apollo (cap. 5,050), her…
Read morePushing back against Viagogo, the merits of performing in Africa and innovation in ticketing were among the many diverse issues debated at the 12th LIVE UK summit. Held at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel in London’s West End, the annual conference and networking event took place on 11 October, with…
Read moreTHE ENTERTAINMENT Agents’ Association (EAA) has appointed two new members to its National Council of Management. Big Foot Events’ Erica Crompton and Jillie Bushell Associates’ Jillie Bushell join existing council members including Jenny Dunster, Alan Wood, John Howe, Marina Blore and Peter Chittenden. “At one time, representatives on council were…
Read moreAEG-OWNED ticketing company AXS has announced an agreement with Coventry’s 40,000-capacity Ricoh Arena and Wasps rugby club. The four-year deal will see the global ticket provider exclusively sell tickets for rugby and netball matches, exhibitions and live music events. As part of the deal, AXS’s Fansight technology will allow customers…
Read moreTHE LIVE music industry contributed almost £1 billion to the economy in 2017, according to umbrella organisation UK Music’s latest report, published this month. The Measuring Music survey found that the British music industry grew by two per cent overall on the previous year, with live events contributing £991…
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